Pacific Grove residents want to know just what they're getting if they vote for Measure F

Soaring story boards and netting notwithstanding, Pacific Grove's Measure F is not about building a hotel next to Holman's Department Store.

It's all about the zoning.

That's what has opponents on edge, according to Mary Flaig, who has signed on to a "Vote No on F" campaign against the ballot measure that would allow bigger development projects on the Holman Block bounded by Lighthouse, Grand, Central and Fountain avenues.

Forums on Measure F, presented by Texas hotel developer Drake Leddy, have focused on his project to construct a 200-plus-room hotel in the Holman Block, incorporating part of it in the old Holman's Department Store building — luxury suites, banquet facilities, meeting rooms, shops and a spa — and building over the adjacent parking lot and Grand Central Station commercial building.

Leddy at recent sessions has presented an architect's drawing of what the project might look like and stressed its financial benefits to the city: jobs, tax revenue, a tourist draw bringing new business for downtown, a venue for weddings, family reunions and business conferences. He said he needs a project on that scale to provide a full-service hotel.

"The zoning makes it possible," Flaig said. But what the public has seen of the hotel project may not be what it gets.

"We saw one project initially. When we objected, we were given another project that addressed some of our concerns. But we're not voting on these projects. Once we vote yes or no on the zoning, a yes vote means we'll be dealing with whatever project the developer wants to do at that point. If no, the developer can go forward with whatever project under the current zoning."

On Aug. 8 the Pacific Grove City Council approved placing the rezoning measure on the Nov. 6 ballot by a 6-1 vote, with Councilman Robert Huitt dissenting.

It would allow construction of a hotel up to 75 feet in height in the Holman Block, with 100 percent lot coverage.

Voters in 1994 approved use of the land for a hotel with 90 percent lot coverage and a maximum building height of 30 feet, or 75 percent lot coverage and a building height of 40 feet.

The department store building, now used as an antique mall, rises to 55 feet facing Lighthouse Avenue between Grand and Fountain and 75 feet where the rear of the store faces the parking lot.

Plans submitted by Leddy show a structure stepping down to a height of 30 feet facing Grand Avenue, opposite the Pacific Grove Public Library.

Peninsula native Marietta Bain, who with her husband, Pierre Bain, have owned Fandango Restaurant on 17th Street for 25 years, said she sees the hotel as "a salvation for the city."

"Everybody's talking about mass, but if it's a clean space, homogenous, working with the street and the city, I see it as a win-win. We need an anchor downtown that creates an ambience that gives downtown vitality again, like when a major department store was there."

The story poles that went up early this month don't daunt her, Bain said. "As far as I'm concerned, this could be a major improvement to that corner that looks so shabby and neglected."

Rather than interfering with the neighborhood or its residential character, Bain said, the proposed hotel made possible by the rezoning could tie downtown together, be a source of revenue for the city and provide jobs for people who live there. Proponents of Measure F include Mayor Carmelita Garcia, Councilman Daniel Miller, council candidate Mary Norton, businessman Thomas McMahon and longtime resident Richard Stillwell.

They contend in their ballot argument for the measure that any specific project would be subject to comprehensive environmental review and the city's permit process.

Opposed are former Planning Commissioners Lisa Bennett, Daniel Davis, Linda Bailey and Mark Travaille, and resident Sally Jean Aberg, who argue that Measure F contains no development agreement and the zoning would remain in effect if Leddy does not go through with his project.